Stranded
by giant00
Summary: The crew of the Firefly Serenity take on strangers from a long way off.  X-over with Stargate Atlantis
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It had been six months since the hive ship was destroyed in orbit. During that time Stargate Command was run out of Atlantis due to the dominance of the Pegasus gate over the Milky Way version. This benefited those on Atlantis because it significantly increased the number of personnel on Atlantis. This allowed for the repairs to be performed on various sections of the city and new sections of the city to be opened up. The six months allowed the residents of Atlantis to spend some time with their family before getting back to work.

The only exception to this was the premiere team of Atlantis. The military commander of Atlantis oversaw the training of new personnel in the workings of Atlantis and the layout of the city. The director of science and research was busy repairing the power conduits around the city, certifying labs as safe, that he was unable to remember all the new scientists on board Atlantis. Not that he would have would have bothered to remember their names to begin with. The remaining two members of the team were natives to the Pegasus galaxy. They assisted Col. Sheppard in training the new military personnel to the hazards of Atlantis serving as guides around the city, and training all willing members in the martial arts of the Pegasus galaxy.

The time spent on earth did take its toll on people though. The Atlantis expedition members were adamant that Atlantis return to the Pegasus galaxy so that the Wraith could be defeated once and for all. The previous few years saw the elimination of the replicators, civil war between the Wraith, and destruction of the Wraith's ability to mass produce warriors. The expedition members argued that the job was left unfinished and wanted to go back to finish the job. The chief medical officer agreed with them stating that too many humanitarian missions were left unfinished. Despite their reservations, the IOA finally relented set a departure date for Atlantis, but wanted as much of the Ancient database to be downloaded and stored on earth, and full reports from the science teams on how to reproduce ancient technology so that Earth may benefit.

The six month wait for the return to Pegasus was too much for Teyla Emmagan. Her desire to return to her young child and her husband at the new Athosian settlement grew as time passed. Additionally, there was the issue of Todd. The Wraith was frequently problematic to the expedition and the humans of the Pegasus galaxy, however he aided in the destruction of the replicator fleet, however as a ploy to obtain precious zero-point modules. His plans to use one to power a Wraith nursery, for lack of a better term, was thwarted, and when Sheppard and his team destroyed the facility. Another ZPM was lost when the hive ship was destroyed above earth and two more were offered to Atlantis to help destroy his rebellious second in command. Still, he claimed to have three more hidden in the Pegasus galaxy and offered them for his release. This tipped the scales for the IOA and it was decided that the General Hammond's was dispatched to carry Teyla and Todd back to the Pegasus galaxy to collect the ZPMs and to gather intelligence on the status of the Wraith and the humans in the Pegasus galaxy.

After six months on earth, Atlantis finally left Earth's atmosphere and fired up the star drive to travel back to the Pegasus galaxy. The expedition had been expanded significantly, both with the scientific personnel as well as the military personnel. In addition to the Air Force and Marine contingent present on Atlantis, Special Forces from the Navy and Army were added. To say the least is was the most unusual military command any of the soldiers have ever experienced, not counting the whole living in another galaxy fighting aliens aspect. After several months of training with Col. Sheppard and Ronon, they were eager to begin work.

When the General Hammond returned to Earth, their intelligence report suggested that things have devolved with the Wraith and that more cruisers and hives have been lost to the civil war. The General Hammond added to the pressure by using the cancer causing retro-virus being introduced to the various hive ships. After witnessing Todd's ship fall apart due to the retro-virus, it was theorized that it wasn't necessary to infect the Wraith, rather their ships. By infecting the cruisers and hive ships they could deal a serious blow to the wraith's ability to harm the humans of Pegasus galaxy.

On the trip to M35-117, the uninhabited world home to Atlantis Woolsey, Sheppard, Ronon, Lorne, Beckett and Keller had meetings to determine how to effectively reintroduce themselves to the Pegasus galaxy. It was decided that initially, the first several weeks would be spent either gathering intelligence, or coordinating the humanitarian missions. The first mission on Sheppard's mind was to go and retrieve their missing member. It had been over three months since Teyla Emmagon had left for the Pegasus galaxy and Sheppard, McKay, and Ronon all wanted to see their friend again.

Three days after settling down onto M35-117 after all systems have been checked out after the long flight to the Pegasus Galaxy and the landing on M35-117. The team consisting of Sheppard, McKay, and Ronon got geared up. Dr. Keller joined the team after checking her medkit backpack and putting on her leather jacket. She decided that 6 months away there could have been some medical reason for her to be there, if only to help with the little things. They all knew that reason was superficial. She had spent the last 6 months on Atlantis, going through their medical database, and operating the infirmary. During that time, she and Rodney grown closer and the team knew her travelling with them to fetch Teyla was an excuse to spend some time off-world with Rodney.

Both Sheppard and McKay carried their P90s, and side arms in addition to their tactical vests. Sheppard, being the military man, had his filled with extra ammunition, and a life signs detector. McKay, had a limited amount of ammunition, but also had various electronics and sensors which have proven useful throughout the past 6 years with his ever present computer strapped to his back over his black fatigues and black leather jacket. Ronon was dressed much simpler. He wore his common leather pants, rough, woven shirt, and light brown leather jacket with a sword strapped across his back.

As they stride into the gate room, Sheppard says, "Dial it up, Chuck."

"Dialing the gate" replied the technician Chuck.

Sheppard looked up to Woolsey. "Don't wait up for us. If everything goes smoothly, we'll be spending the night."

"I know Colonel. Say hello to Teyla for me. We'll keep the light on for you" Woolsey replied.

Ronon just grunted at this. He looked over at Amelia Banks and gave a small frown. With that, he turned around and followed the others through the gate.

After stepping through the gate, the four looked around and found they were not on New Athos.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Things had not been going well for the crew of Serenity. It had been a though year. The loss of Book had been hard, and it had been harder to desecrate his body and their friends by mounting them on the hull of the ship. Knowing what was happing to the ship made Kaylee shed a tear. The run through Reaver space was frightening, losing Wash on Mr. Universe's moon. Somehow, they managed to hold off the Reavers long enough although Inara was the only one to really come out unscathed, at least physically.

Getting the deaths of over 30 million people off your conscious would be a salve to anyone's conscious. For River, though, with the damage that the done at the Academy, it did not give Simon back the sister he remembered. She was still brilliant, but she was still the psychic assassin that the government had forced her to become. She still had problems filtering out others thoughts. There was the sorrow from the Captain from seeing his ship, his home tore up from the crash, his grief over Wash, and his sorrow for his best friend and right hand at the loss of her husband. Added into that was his buried feelings for Inara. Inara felt the same way as Captain Reynolds, about the ship, her crew, and the loss of their friends. Kaylee and Simon were conflicted. There was their grief over the loss of their friends, and from Kaylee the damage done to her girl. There was also the flow of warmth and love of their new relationship and small amounts of guilt that they are happy while so many around them are dealing with their grief. Finally there was the man called Jayne. As a mercenary, he was the best at his job, and did not get close to any of his partners, crew mates in the event he would have to shoot them eventually. It was the death of Shepherd Book that shook him. Since he left home at 15 he had always been wary of others. For the first time he had a friend and losing his friend showed him that Serenity just wasn't a ship, but rather a family of sorts.

The year following the Miranda broadwave was tough. With a third of the fleet destroyed outside Mr. Universe's moon opened things up for smugglers. Work was plentiful; however it often came with several risks. The outer rim saw no Alliance patrols so piracy, and slave trading were common. The crew had been ambushed nearly every other job. With only River competent enough to fly Serenity, she had to stay with the ship for a quick getaway. Only about half the time was she able to sense something wrong from the cockpit of the ship and warn the Captain and the others in time. This time, they had a job out on Haven. Both legal cargo and smuggled goods.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Rodney, where the hell are we?" said Sheppard

"How should I know?" Mckay replied.

"Where's the DHD? For that matter, why does this look like a Milky way gate?" asked Dr. Keller.

"Aren't stargates usually out in the open? Why is this one in a cave?" Ronon asked

"I don't know just give me a second to figure it out?"

"…..well, Rodney, where the hell are we?"

"That's definitely a Milky-Way gate. There's no DHD. Why is there no DHD? This is bad. Really bad." Rodney replied.

"OK. Atlantis isn't expecting us back for another 24 hours. You and Keller stay here while Ronon and I look for an exit. Maybe we can find out where we are."

It only took 20 minutes to find the entrance to the cave. The planet looked bleak. It was a hot desert planet. Ronan and Sheppard took some time to scout the area only to find more rocks. No signs of water, life, or anything else. Climbing to higher ground they spotted what looked like a house, or maybe a ship about a day's walk away. After three hours of scouting the area, they returned to the cave and to Drs. McKay and Keller and Sheppard asked "Well Rodney, what do you have?"

"It doesn't make sense," Rodney said. "This is definitely a Milky Way gate. There's no apparent DHD. The strange thing is, this symbol here. This is the home symbol for the gate. I don't recognize it. It's not in the Ancient database on the computer."

"You're right, this doesn't make sense. I take it no DHD means we can't dial out?"

"Well obviously".

"We spotted something about a day's walk out. It looks like were' about an hour from dusk, so we hold up here for the night and then try to find civilization in the morning. Maybe we can find something to work with then."

"You mean we're not waiting to hear from Atlantis" Dr. Keller asked.

"If this really is a Milky Way gate, it's unlikely Atlantis will be able to contact us. Sheppard's right. Our best bet is to determine where we are, and make our way back to Earth."

"Kaylee we're down"

"Shr ah Captain. Shutting her down for now. It'll take a few hours to replace that intake valve."

"Just remember we have that job to do in the morning. It would be nice if we'd be ready for a quick getaway." Putting the mike down the Captain left the bridge heading down the walkway into the galley There he found his first mate Zoe and his merc Jayne sitting at the table cleaning their weapons obviously expecting violence tomorrow at the drop. "In the morning, I want you two to bury the goods out in those hills over to the west."

"Aye Captain." The first mate replied.

Mal looked over at Jayne, his concentration on his weapons is paramount. He looked up, grunted an affirmative, and returned to reassembling his favorite pistol.

Mal made his way down the back stairs past the infirmary to the cargo bay only to find River standing by the open cargo bay door, looking off in the distance. He strode across the cargo bay and stood next to her for a few quiet moments. Finally as he turned to begin talking to her, she quietly spoke up "they don't belong here", then turned around and walked away.

Dawn broke early on Haven. Before breakfast, Zoe, went down to the cargo bay and lowered the hover mule to the deck so that they could begin loading. Jayne, walked into the cargo bay rubbing sleep from his eyes, and walked over to the compartment where their illicit cargo was stored. He and Zoe began pulling crates out to load up in the mule. Turning around, she found River sitting in the passenger's seat wearing a pair of goggles entirely too big for her face and pulling on a pair of leather work gloves. As Zoe loaded up the mule spoke up saying "Riv, sweetie, you planning on joining us today."

"Yes"

"You planning on doing your share of digging?"

"Maybe some exploring. Something's out there that shouldn't be"

"Just be sure to not wander off too far. Simon would have a fit"

"He worries too much. He's a boob."

"You won't get any arguments from me," Jayne said hauling up the last box of cargo.

As Mal and Kaylee watched from the catwalk, the three crewmembers fired up the mule and headed off to the hills.

Ronon was the first to wake when he heard loud engine approach. He woke Sheppard and the others and Sheppard grabbed his P90 and together the four carefully made their way to the entrance to the cave. When they got there, they saw what looked like a boxy craft hovering about a foot off the ground. Nearby there was two armed people burying boxes in the dirt. The man was large, and looked like he could give Ronon a run for his money. The woman, was tall, muscular, with dark skin and dark hair. She had an air about her that told Sheppard that this woman was once a soldier.

After a half hour, they were done digging, but just as they finished they looked up to find a shuttle come in for a landing off to the right. Out of the shuttle came seven heavily armed men and two wearing blue suits and blue gloves. As they approached the two, their backs were to the cave. Suddenly from just outside the cave, a small girl appeared wearing leather gloves and glasses on their head. Startled, Sheppard and Ronon aimed their weapons at the girl. She looked at each in turn and finally she spoke. Looking at Dr. Keller, she said "you're not Kaylee" before moving onto Sheppard she said "and you're not a Shepherd."

Sheppard replied with what everyone was thinking which was only to say "What?"

"I need to help my friends down there. The two with the gloved hands are looking for me. They want to take me back. Continue their experiments on me. Will you help me?"

Sheppard looked at each of his team members seeing each nod. "Yes we'll help"

"Good, Follow me. You two stay here" As she passed, she effortlessly pulled Sheppard's sidearm and drew Ronon's sword out of its scabbard. She glided down the path to behind the men holding her friends hostage with Ronon and Sheppard trailing behind.

"Where is River Tam? I won't ask you this again. We know she is out here. Your captain wasn't very forthcoming with information, but when we threatened the women, the mechanic revealed some of you were out in these hills. Now l ask again, where is River Tam?"

The man being held hostage looked up and started laughing. "She's right behind you, you feh feh pi goh"

At that moment, Sheppard, Ronon, and River open-fired with their weapons. After the initial volley of fire, most of the men went down with the exception of the two blue gloved men. Instantly, the small girl sprang forward with the sword slicing into one of blue gloved men severing his leg swinging the sword around and plunging it through the heart of the second man. She pulled the sword out of the man's chest cavity and strode over to the man with the severed leg who was struggling to stay conscious. She just looked into his eyes and stated "I am not yours" before stabbing him through the heart.

Sheppard and Ronon lowered their weapons as the small woman's friends got up off the ground.

"River, are you going to introduce us to your friends here?"

"Yes, later. Simon's in the shuttle and he's hurt. I'm not sure but I think some of the others are hurt as well. " the girl named River replied as she was wiping the blood off the sword. She handed the sword back to Ronon saying thank you.

Sheppard talked to into his walkie saying "Dr. Keller, we got a patient for you down here." Zoe heard the reply come back in a voice eerily like that of Kaylee saying "OK Colonel. Be there in a minute."

"Zoe, I can fly the shuttle back to Serenity and bring them along as well."

"Take Jayne. I'll bring the Colonel back on the mule. Radio when you get back and let me know what you find.

"Will do"

After the shuttle takes off carrying River, Jayne, the big man with dread-locks named Ronon and the two doctors Zoe said to the Colonel "So, would you like to explain why you're wearing a flag on your shoulder of a country that collapsed before the Exodus. Also,that looks like a P90. They stopped making those 400 years ago. Where did you get an antique like that?"

"What do you mean collapsed? And what exodus? More importantly, what do you mean 400 years?"

"That flag is from Earth-That-Was. Over 400 years ago people left Earth because all the resources were used up. People loaded up into massive ships took over a generation to get here. Headed out to this system. Terraformed planets, moons, subjucated people."

"What year is it?"

"2520"

"What?"

"2520"

"This isn't right. It was 2009 when we left. Maybe McKay can explain this when we get to your ship."

"Well River, he's ok. He won't be walking right for a bit, but he should be fine."

"Thanks Dr. Keller. We'll be setting down in a minute. The captain's hurt as well."

"How do you know that"

"I'm psychic"

"That's impossible!" Dr. McKay screeched.

"Teyla's psychic" River replied.

"Yeah, but she's got wraith DNA and…..wait a second. How do you know that"

River just gave him a look like he's a boob. "I'm psychic".

"River. Once we're down, let's check the ship first before we let these guys out," Jayne stated.

"Ok. But Ronon can help. Stun only. Kill could damage the ship. There shouldn't be anyone there"

"Can't be too careful." Ronon said.

"Right" Jayne agreed.

After clearing the ship, River ran to get Dr. Keller while Ronon helped Simon get to the infirmary. After a quick examination, Dr. Keller found that he was just unconscious and that there was no permanent damage. She looked up and said "Don't worry miss…."

"Inara"

"Inara, he should be fine."

"He usually is. This happens far too often, but don't tell him I said that. Usually it's Simon patching him up."

"Speaking of which, he really should get a couple stitches."

Ronon walked into the cargo bay carrying the bleeding man. "Where's he going?"

Kaylee popped up. "oh Simon. This way," she said as she lead the former runner through the cargo bay through the door in the back. Dr. Keller and Inara followed the trio into the infirmary.

"OK, you need stitches. Can you give me my pack" Dr. Keller said looking up.

"The weaves are in the second drawer from the right" Inara said.

"Weave?'

"Yeah, weaves for the stitches"

"Oh. Ok, I can work with this. And the pain killers?"

"The smoothers are in the second cupboard from the left"

"Smoothers? Painkillers?" Dr. Keller said as she opened the cupboard. "What are these? I've never heard of any of these?"

Kaylee upset at seeing Simon in pain said "And you say you're a doctor. Ain't you supposed to know these things?"

Inara spoke up "here, let me. I often need to help out. I think it's three cc's of this."

Dr. Keller taking command said "ok, Inject that near the wound site. A couple minutes and it should be numb enough to work on." Looking at Kaylee she stated "Just so you know, I graduated from the top of my class at one of the best medical schools on Earth."

As soon as she finished the statement, the other three just froze in their tracks. Inara was the first to speak up. "What do you mean Earth? We left Earth over 400 years ago."

"She's telling the truth. We're from Earth," Dr. Rodney McKay said from the doorway to the infirmary.

"That's impossible"

They all looked to River standing next to Dr. McKay. She simply stated "truth".

The mule pulled up to the ship with it's two silent occupants. After pulling into the cargo bay, they got out and strode to the infirmary. The captain, who had been moved to the couch outside the infirmary was starting to come around. He looked up to see his first make make her way into the lounge followed by an armed stranger in a tactical vest. He managed to croak out "Report?"

"Sir, after the blue hands hit you here they made their way out to the hide. They held Jayne and I at gunpoint while questioning us. At that point, River made her way down from the hills with two strangers. They open fired on the blue hands killing the guards and River killed the two blue hands with a strange sword. One of them was a doctor and they offered medical help."

"Can we trust them?"

"River seems to think so"

"Well, she would know." Mal replied with a nod.

"Sir, there's a problem though. They say they are from Earth"

"Not all of us. Ronon's from a planet called Seteda in the Pegasus galaxy" Colonel Sheppard added.

"Zoe, did he just say that one of them is from another galaxy?" Mal questioned

"I believe so sir." Zoe replied

"How is this possible?"

"I don't know, I was going to ask McKay and figure it out. Yesterday we were in the Pegasus galaxy, and today we're over 500 years in the future in a different galaxy. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one. Stranger things have happened though."

"Really?" Mal added.

"Yeah, I turned into a bug. Dr. Keller turned into a tree. Rodney blew up a solar system." Sheppard said.

"I did not blow up a solar system" McKay whined.

"Well 5/6 of one" said Sheppard.

"See, there's a difference." McKay said.

"You don't belong here." It was a quiet statement but one that you took notice of.

"You got something to say Albatross?" The Captain said.

"They don't belong here. Out of place. Out of time. Wormholes warping, winding, twisting through time, breaching the fabric of the universe. Can't go back. Stranded."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

[i]"They don't belong here. Out of place. Out of time. Wormholes warping, winding, twisting through -time, breaching the fabric of the universe. Can't go back. Stranded."[/i]

They all stood there for a second trying to digest what River just said. Colonel Sheppard looked around at the crew of the Serenity wondering if it made any more sense to them than it did to him. By the looks on their faces, they had no idea what she meant, although they apparently not surprised by the strange behavior of the girl. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he asked "Is she always like this?"

It Captain Reynolds that replied. "Not always. She's been a lot better lately, hasn't really needed the meds, and only acts up when something strange is going on. I guess with you folks being from Earth might explain that."

Turning to McKay, Sheppard asked, "Any idea what she was talking about McKay?"

"I don't know," came the reply. "We know that people can travel through time using wormholes. You proved that when you came back with the intel about where Michael was hiding Teyla. And there was that report about the multiple SG-1s that came through the when the black hole tore a hole in the fabric of space. I suppose it's possible but the two events simultaneously, it just doesn't make sense"

"Supernova" River said quietly.

"I suppose, but that wouldn't….that's it. If we were travelling through the wormhole near a star when it went supernova, it would explain how we ended up in an alternate universe. Also, the magnetic fields generated would be enough to warp the wormhole enough to travel through time. The massive amount of energy released by the supernova would be sufficient to establish a wormhole between galaxies."

"So can we get back?"

"I don't see how. First we would need enough energy to establish a connection to the Pegasus galaxy. We could theoretically, get back to our own universe, however we would still be stuck over 500 years in the future. If I could find a way, it's going to take awhile."

"So, like the girl said, we're stranded here."

Rodney sighed "Yes."

Watching this exchange Captain Reynolds came to a decision. "Space is going to be tight, you folk went out of your way to save me and mine and that ain't nothing. You're welcome on this ship as long as you pull your weight."

"I appreciate that Captain," Sheppard said with a nod.

"Now, Zoe, we've got a job to do. How long until the meet?" the Captain question"

"An hour sir."

"Ok, Kaylee, Albatross, get the ship ready. Zoe, Jayne, get your gear. Inara, see about getting these guys situated."

As the crew and started to see about the tasks, Mal started climbing through the stairs to his bunk to get his coat, pistol, and extra ammunition. Hearing feet pounding on the grates following, Mal turned to find Colonel Sheppard.

"Captain, what's this job you've got?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, if we're going to be pulling our weight, I figured you could use a hand. Plus, we've got a few things that may help avoid an ambush"

"Oh, and what's that?"

Sheppard pulled a small device out of his vest pocket and turned it so that Mal could see the display. On the device, he saw several blinking dots moving around. As one came closer, he saw Inara step into the cargo bay and begin climbing the stairs. Mal was surprised to see the dot on the device turn follow the movements of Inara. "This is a life signs detector. It's got a few hundred meter range, and should be helpful in sniffing out any ambushes."

Mal reached out to grab the device to get a better look at it. As Sheppard gave over the device, he saw the screen go blank. Confused, Mal asked "What happened?"

"It's a piece of ancient technology. It's keyed into genetics and only allows people with a specific gene to use it. "

"Well Sheppard, it looks like you're coming with."

The drop went as smoothly as it could for the crew of Serenity. Only a few bullets were fired, and thanks to the life signs detector Sheppard brought with him, nobody from Serenity was injured. With his pocket full of coin, the four hopped into the mule and headed back to Serenity. After shutting down the mule, Zoe showed Sheppard how to get the mule stored.

After the mule was stored, Zoe led the Colonel on a tour of the ship. She walked him through the door at the rear of the cargo bay. In the infirmary, they found Simon and Dr. Keller going. Showing him the passenger dorms, they took the back stairs up. In the Engine room they found Kaylee going through the procedures to starting the engines. Passing through the galley they found Jayne and Ronon sitting on opposite sides of the tables in a staring contest. Continuing on towards the front of the ship, Zoe described the crew quarters before climbing the stairs to the bridge. On the bridge, they found Captain Reynolds, River and Dr. McKay. McKay was sitting in the navigator's chair going over the recorded data on the system. When asked why, he said he was trying to figure out where they were in space, in relation to Earth.

Once River completed the pre-flight sequence, she gently lifted the ship into the air, continuing to climb the ship bucked as the grav-drive interacted with the gravity of the planet. Once clear of the atmosphere the River set course for Paquin with a stopover at the Jiuxing Skyplex, for supplies and re-fuelling.

Sheppard spoke up saying "So, how long until we reach this skyplex of yours?"

"It should take about 8 days depending on the course set up for us," the Captain replied.

"That long?"

"7 days 18 hours and 22 minutes 32 seconds to be precise," River stated.

McKay spoke up, "Sheppard, you have to remember we're not flying in hyperspace anymore. This is just generic sublight travel. I'm guessing the engines run off of some sort of fusion process. That and some anti-gravity technology and inertial dampeners must be what makes space travel possible. What I'm wondering is why there aren't any Goa'uld around."

"They died out before they could take a host." River said soflty. "No Goa'uld, no Stargate program, no Atlantis expedition…"

"And no Nobel Prize," Rodney chimed in.

Sheppard made a face and said "McKay?"

"Well, I took the liberty of looking myself up on their version of the internet. Apparently I didn't do anything noteworthy. I mean me, the greatest mind of my generation amounted to nothing in this universe."

Mal leaned over to Sheppard and said "Does he always whine like this?"

"You get used to it." Sheppard replied.

Inara had her work cut out for her cooking dinner that night. The addition of 4 new people on Serenity made rationing the food a priority. Unfortunately, the large one named Ronon looked like he could eat as much as Jayne. The meal wound up being simple red protein base seasoned to taste like spicy and sweet beef dishes her mother favored while she was a child back on Shinon. After setting the autopilot, River had come back to help set the table for dinner.

When Mal entered the galley he poured himself a cup of water and took his usual seat at the end of the table and found himself staring at Sheppard sitting at the opposite end of the table Mal gave Zoe an odd look as she took a seat next to Sheppard instead of her usual position at his right hand. The other filled in around the table with the obvious couples sitting next to one another, however since there hadn't been too much time to talk about their personal lives during the course of the day, it was a surprise to see Drs. Keller and McKay sit down together. River helped Inara serve the food to the ad hoc crew and much sat down next to Ronon. Inara as had been her custom for the last few months sat in the chair to the left of Mal.

The conversation flowed freely once Rodney had been assured that no citrus was used in the dinner. The four strangers were a little surprised that the crew hadn't seen a fruit in over a year. Stories were traded about what life was like on Earth and in another galaxy. Simon and Inara being the two with the most formal education filled the others in on history as they knew it supplemented by comments from Zoe and River filling other random details. As Simon and Kaylee began clearing the table and doing the dishes, Captain Reynolds spoke up.

"So, we know this is all new to you, but quite frankly you all seem like good folk and I don't want to set you loose on the 'verse only to get swallowed up by the Alliance"

River stiffened in her seat when Ronon asked "Are they really that bad?"

"Yes, they are. They kidnapped young children for the sole purpose of turning them into living weapons. They seek to control the populace through fear and intimidation. They also tried druggin' the population into submission" Zoe said.

Dr. Keller spoke up with "What do you mean drugging the population into submission?"

"Almost 15 years ago there was a planet called Miranda. We were in the beginnings of a civil war. The Alliance decided that they wanted to have something to calm the independents without having to fight them. They developed a drug called Pax. The put it into the air processors of Miranda and then everyone just lay down and went to sleep and never woke up. Thirty million people, killed, just because others had the courage to stand up for their ideals." Inara answered. Seeing the shock on the faces of the four, she continued. "That wasn't the worst of it. The drug didn't work on everyone. There were some that turned into monsters, raping,killing, skinning people, and not always in that order."

River spoke up. "I remember hearing stories of them when I was a child. I thought it was just campfire stories told to scare kids. I never imagined it would be true. I told you when I was sent to the Academy they experimented on me. They did things to me that are difficult to think about." A small tear trailed down her face.

"I was their success story. They paraded various members of the military and parliament in front of me. A reader with no filters and they shove all these people with terrible secrets in front of me. The secret of Miranda got trapped. My brother eventually broke me out, and the captain took us on board. Welcomed us. Made us part of the crew even though he didn't really like us at times. Protected us." Another tear escaped. "Thank you again Captain"

Inara reached out and held Mal's hand. "Don't think on it lil' one."

"The secret scrambled my brain for awhile, made me crazy. It made life troublesome for everyone. Ahh wacky fun" River smiled when she heard Zoe snort in amusement. The Alliance sent someone after me. They wanted me back at all costs. All we had was the name of a planet called Miranda, and several dead friends, contact, and one crew member. We made a suicide run through Reaver controlled space and found a recording. We shot up the Reaver fleet and got them to battle Alliance while we tried to broadcast the wave. We lost another crew member." River stopped as she felt sorrow emanate from the crew and grief come from Zoe. "I'm so sorry Zoe. He loved you so much."

Zoe blinked away the tears as she said "Hush now River. It wasn't your fault"

River felt Inara grasp her hand and the flow of compassion surge from the former Companion.

They all sat there for a few moments. It was Simon who spoke up first. "We all nearly died getting that broadwave sent. Once it was sent though, Parliament figured the damage was done and they left us be. We're no longer wanted by the government, but as you saw earlier, Blue Sun, the company responsible for hurting River still wants their prize back. Thank you for helping her."

"You're welcome. We'll do whatever we can to make them pay." The gruff former Runner stated what the rest were thinking. River just smiled at him through her tears.

After another few minutes in silence, Mal finally spoke up. "I think it's about time you folks get to bed. Albatross, I'll take the watch so you go get some rest. I know how drained you must be now." River just nodded. "Jayne, check the cargo, Kaylee, put the engine to bed for the night. Inara, Zoe, see to it our guests are secure for the night. Who's turn is it to make breakfast?"

"Mine Cap'n" Kaylee answered.

"Good. In the morning we'll talk about getting the rest of you in on the rotation for chores. Maybe we can figure out what kind of jobs we got for you."

The first one awake the next morning was Jennifer Keller. She left the bunk she was sharing with Rodney, cleaned herself off the best she could in the restroom and began wandering the ship. By the time she got to the galley Kaylee had made her way into the kitchen wearing her overalls and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Dr. Keller asked if she could help and Kaylee being the ray of sunshine that she is, couldn't say no.

After checking on the course to make sure nothing happened overnight, Mal walked towards the galley. As he approached the door, he heard the sound of laughter. Looking through he saw Kaylee and the new doctor laughing and acting like sisters while seeing to breakfast. It really was amazing how muchthe two looked like sisters. After a few moments, Kaylee looked up and said a cheerful "mornin' Cap'n," which the others echoed. Kaylee took Dr. Keller over and showed her how the intercom worked and told her to announce breakfast.

The rest of the crew rambled in five minutes later and took their places around the table. As breakfast was winding down, Mal spoke up.

"Okay, the way I see it is that you four need to get situated to the 'Verse. Dr. Keller, you best get situated with Simon and he can bring you up to speed on how things are done on this ship." As he said this, Kaylee's smile dimmed just a bit. "Now about the rest of you, you got any special skills? I mean, we know both of you can fight," pointing Ronon and Sheppard "so we can work you into some jobs, but can you do anything else?"

"I'm a pilot, flown all kinds of aircraft and spacecraft"

"Good, you shadow River. River, get Sheppard up to speed on Serenity and the shuttles."

"What about you Ronon?"

"Fight, hunt, track. Before the Wraith came to Sateda, I was a soldier."

"Ok. Jayne, take Ronon and show him the ropes. McKay, what can you do?"

"Well, I have a Ph.D. in physics and mechanical engineering"

"Do you know anything about spaceships?"

"Puh. Everything. Well, everything in our universe. Here, I'm fairly certain I could figure things out fairly easy"

"Ok. Kaylee, teach him about our girl. There are some other things we need to discuss as well. Most of all, money. Taking you folks on will mean we'll need to take on extra supplies every time we stop. Now, Sheppard, you helped on the job, so we'll take that and make sure we can get the extra supplies as well as clothes for you folks. Another thing is that you've got no Ident chip. Now we get searched by the Alliance, that's going to be problematic so we'll need to get you all situated for that. That's gonna cost though. You'll like to sell a few things to get some money"

"What did you have in mind?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, your guns."

"What? Why? I mean we're here a day and we're already in been shot at a few times. It seems like we'd need our guns"

"You can't get no ammo for those things," Jayne replied. "They don't make that ammo anymore. There ain't no ammo that'll work for you. You put in a clip of new ammo and set it to full auto and the barrel will warp. The powder will burn right straight through it. Either you need to get the barrel replaced, or you need new guns. Thing is, that'd be a custom job. Ain't be cheap. They ain't made one of those in 400 years. Probably get 40,000 for the .45 and 100,000 for the P90, especially since they're in working condition."

"That sounds like a lot." Dr. Keller stated.

"I only paid 40,000 for Serenity when I bought her. Course, it took another 20,000 to get her working again"

"And how much to get them refit?"

"10,000 probably"

"Ok. We'll get mine refit, and sell Rodney's. It seems like he won't need them on the ship, and if he does, I'm guessing you'll have enough to spare." Seeing Mal nod, Sheppard continued. "We'll also split the money up with Serenity. If nothing else it'll keep us on the ship for awhile."

"Sounds like a deal." Mal stood up. "What are you all doing here when you've got work to do?"


End file.
